Art, culture, food and more in Italy in general and Bologna in particular

The Gilded Portico

Via Farini and the neighboring streets and palazzi are where you head when you want to do some seriously high-end shopping in Bologna. Even if you can’t afford to do more than sniff some of the perfumes or carefully caress some of the clothing, you can always window shop. Best of all, you can feel a bit like royalty without even going inside the stores. There’s a section of Via Farini with a portico that would make Louis XIV envious.

Although there are Renaissance palazzi in the area worthy of note, such as Casa Saraceni, much of Via Farini wasn’t built until the 1800s. Not all of the portici along the street are as excessively decorated at that surrounding the building near Piazza Cavour, but it’s worth looking up regularly to see some of the beautiful form and decoration of many of the portici.